Device for operating car couplers



c. D. BONSALL DEVICE FOR OPERATING cm coUPLIRs July 19, 1927. 1,636,165

' Original Filed Oct. 2 1924 ,1 6 a Jhvemlar:

may-1w 930mm Patented July 19, 1927.

{UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES D. BONSALL, 01 NEW KENSINGTON, "PENNSYLVANIA, .ASSIGNOB, TO UNION IETAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, 01' CHICAGO, ILLINDIS, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE.

DEVICE FOR OPERATING CAR COUPLERS.

Original application filed October 24, 1924, Serial 110.745,!85. Divided and this application filed September 28,1925. Serial No. 59,888.

This particular invention relates to what is generally known in the art as a rotating type of uncoupling device for car couplers and comprises an operating rod revolubly I mounted on the car with brackets or in any other convenient manner, which rodis usually bent downwardly at the outer end to form a handle, and is bent outwardly at its inner end to form a crank, projecting over th coupler, which crank is provided with a horizontally positioned eye with its axis perpendicular to the longitudinal center of the car. The standard vertical plane couler has a knuckle pivoted to the coupler ead and provided with a tail behind which the lock is placed. The lock lifter protrudes through and above the coupler head and is rovided with a horizontally positioned eye. his look lifter eye is 1%, in diameter and its axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal center of the car. This size and position has been determined by the American Railroad Association and is standard for the majority of couplers now in service.

My invention resides in the connection between th eye on the crank of the operating rod and the eye on the coupler lock lifter. When the handle is raised the rod is revolved and the crank is thereby raisedwhich a0 unlocks the couplers by raising the lock lifter.

The coupler moves backwardly and forwardly longitudinallyof the car in bufling and draft and also moves sidewis'e in rounding curves, tc, and the connection between the coupler and the operating rod .must permit such movements without the component parts becoming disengaged from each other or from either the coupler or the operating 40 rod. It is frequently necessary to uncouple cars when they are coupled together and in contact so that it is impossible to throw the knuckle of either coupler. dition couplers are..designed to assume a lock set position wherein the lock lifter can be raised from behind the tail of the knuckle and retained in such a position by means within the head of the cou ler independent of the operating rod. T is allows the operating rod to fall close to the lock To meet this con lifter. To accommodate such a movement the connection between the operating rod crank and th coupler must fore-shorten, which is accomplishedby making it of several parts which collapse by means of a hinge joint. The operating rod, as above de scribed, is old and in use on hundreds of thousands of cars now in existence. Such rods had a short chain connecting the crank arm to the lock lifter of'the coupler which chains proved unsatisfactory and were responsible for a little more than half of the defects for uncoupling mechanisms reported by the Interstate Commerce Commission. These chains were defective because'they were broken, missing, kinked or either too long or too short.

One of the objects of this inventionis to provide a connection between the rod and the coupler which will eliminate the defects of the old chain and meet all required.

These short chains werebroken by falling behind the coupler horn and being smashed between the coupler horn and thestriking casting by impact of the cars in coupling. The device is designed so that the component parts cannot become disconnected "from each other or from the operating rod or the coupler. The connection be tween the component parts and also their connections to the operating rod and the coupler are such that the device cannot be;- come kinked. Formerly when a brakeman wanted a small chain to repair one-of the old connections he simply guessed as to the amount ofchain required and applied it to the car, which accounts for the number of too long and too short chains reported by the commission. This is not possible with my-devioe.

Another object is to provide a connection which may be hooked into the eye of the coupler lock lifter with the hooked'member connected to the crank 01: the operating rod by another member which permits it "to adapt itselfto'the various service movements of the coupler but prevents it from becoming disengaged from the lock lifter in service.

service conditions Another object of the invention is to provide a device wherein the component parts are identical and duplicates, therefore, interchangeable. Duplication, of course, also simplifies manufacture, handling, accounting, etc.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which can be assembled at the point of manufacture and shipped as a unit to the point of application to a car and which can be applied to the car by a Very simple operation which requires no special tools or appliances.

Another object is to obtain a device where in the component parts are duplicates so that they cannot be wrongfully applied to the car or to each other.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a car with my invention applied thereon.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the connector.

Fig. 3 shows the connector in its shortest position. v

Fig. 4 shows the connector in its longest position. I

Fig. 5 shows the connector in assembled open position.

Fig. 6 shows the connector in closed position and partially collapsed- Fig. 7 Shows one of the members in detail.

Fig. 8 is a detail of the hook to show the lips and notches for retaining the members in a closed position. A p

In a railway car the operating rod 1 is mounted onthe end sill 2 by brackets 3. The usual operating rod had a handle 4: and a crank arm 5 which arm has a horizontally disposed eye 6. The lock lifter 7 of the cou pler 8 also has a horizontally disposed eye 9 and my invention resides in a connector for these two mentioned eyes. I

The device comprises two pairs of complementary hooked and preferably, duplicate members 10. The members 01 each pair are shaped to be positioned opposite eachother to form a closed eye.

The two upper members may be hooked into the eye 6 of the operating crank arm and moved opposite to each other to form a closed eye. The two lower members may likewise be hooked in the eye 9 of the coupler lock litter and moved opposite to each other to form a closed eye. The two pairs of members (upper and lower) are then con nected together by pivot 11. So that the device may be shipped as aunit' from the iactory it may be advisable to fasten the four component parts together by the rivet 11 (which is a pivot) so that the pairs of members may move to open position, as shownin Fig. 5, for connection to the crank arm and lock lifter, respectively, and then move to closed position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The members are held in positionby the lips 11 which have slits 16 on either side of them so that they may be bent to engage the corresponding notches 17. (See Fig. 8.)

Fig. 6 shows how the component parts collapse relative to each other so that the connector may accommodate service conditions. A plurality of aligned holes 12, 13 and 14 are provided for the pivot to furnish means 1 for altering the length of the connector. The

of complementary members, each pair of complementary members pivotally connected by a pin to move opposite each other to form a closed eye, said sin also pivotally connecting said pairs 0% members together, and

means for detachably securing each pair of said complementary members in the position of a closed eye, said members each provided with a plurality of holes arranged to be aligned with the holes in the other members to accommodate the pin so as to Vary the length ofthe connector.

2. A connector for a railway car coupler and its operating rod, comprising a plurality of members, each having a hook at one end and a plurality of aligned holes at the opposite end, said hooks positioned complementarily to move to form closed eyes at the opposite ends of the connector, a pin rotatively engaging a hole in each member whereby the length of the connector may be altered, means for retaining said members in the position of a closed eye, and means'to hold said pin in place;

i 3. A connector for arailway car coupler and its operating rod, comprising a plurality of duplicate members, each having a hook at one end anda plurality. of aligned holes at the opposite end, said hooks ositioned complementarily to move to ibrm closed eyes at the opposite ends of the connector, a pin rotatively engaging a hole in each member whereby the length of the connector may be altered, means for retaining said members in the position of aclosed eye, and means to hold said pin in place.

at. In a railway car, the combination of an operating rod mounted upon the car having a horizontally disposed eye, a coupler with a lock lifter, a connector therefor comprising two pairs of complementary members, each pair of complementary members pivot ally connected by a pin to move o gmsite each other to form a closed eye, sa1 eyes forming engagements to the lock lifter eye and operating rod, respectively, said pin also pivotally connecting said pairs ofmembers together, and means for detachably securing each pair of said complementary members in the position of a closed eye, said members each provided with a plurality of holes to be aligned with the holes in the other members to accommodate the pin so asv to vary the length of the connector.

CHARLES 1). BONSALL. 

